Wednesday 2 July 2008

Still Fundamentally Broken

Currently I sit around top 70 in the gameworld, top 5 in youth. I'm looking at the teams around me and have come to the conclusion that this game is flawed. Maybe that's too strong language not flawed but just that I think SI have misjudged. I'm looking at my squad and they are young but kids don't perform like men that's realistic fair enough, but as they come through to be 21, 22, 23 they can't play in my team. Well they could but they would then hold me back.

As I can only lock five senior players I can't keep them even if I loan them out.

Even if I loan them out managers don't play them why would they, they have no interest in their development. So apart from really really great kids they fall into the gap. Youth managers don't want them and senior managers don't want them. New managers want them but not so much so then they warrant a low fee certainly nothing like the investment in time and money that I put in.

The database has players on £2.5k a day these are two a penny everyone wants and has the resources to get Rooney who wants a Championship player when everyone is a Premiership club!

I could do what most managers have done above me, dump the kids and spend on seniors aged 25-31 but then after two or three seasons what? Well I know that answer leave. How many former top clubs have left the writing is on the wall as soon as you arrive it's just a matter of time. Maybe you can trade your way to stay there.

Sadly that is what FM Live is, it's a trading game not a football game. Maybe it's not been possible in the beta but I do think that SI should seriously think about a new model....

Small clubs get £50k a day £25k of that from league.
Top Clubs get £300k a day £150k a day from league.
The rest is spread in accordance with above, e.g. 2.5 star gets a total income of £100k a day.

Your Stadium contributes half of your rep but requires a massive investment. At the top you would gain a certain amount of security, with time everyone gets a sense of progression, if you invest the time eventually you will slowly improve. There will always be natural wastage so everyone will eventually rise to the top. Good managers will get there fast bad managers will get there slowly.

The economy and the database works you could even be rid of the Auto Extend contracts, someone has to be relegated from the Premiership getting £150k a day hit is going to mean that you have to sell!

The Beta has seen massive numbers come and go people will argue that it's a beta and free but there are a lot of users out there that play FM hour after hour. Yet they leave FM Live in droves I suspect the reason is they know their never going to get to the top and there is no security even if you get there.

There is one thing that would need to be fixed big clubs would pick on small ones there is a way to fix this. Assuming your a five star club and have to play a 2 star club it's logical that you'd lose money as you wouldn't get the crowds or traveling costs for your expensive superstars. Conversely the little club would have a cash injection this system would naturally encourage separation.

There are thousands of players out there that will play FM I can't believe all of them want to manage Man Utd, ok they'll play from the bottom and as long as there is hope that they'll become Man Utd then they'll play.

A bit like a MMORPG I guess. Sigh another moan about FM, it is a good game. See the way to approach it is to roll with it but if you roll with it you don't care and football without passion isn't worth the bother it then becomes 11 sprites running around after another round sprite.

Really starting to think it's time for a break.

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